Another Word For Desperate
by Fluffy Tranquil
Summary: Derek and Casey are home for Christmas break. Derek's new university buddy is from the same town and starts to take an interest in Casey, which Derek doesn't like. After the step-siblings form a new bond of their own, they're forced to confront their complicated feelings. Derek's way of handling the situation isn't the best, which leaves Casey feeling miserable. I don't own LWD.
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, so this is my first Life With Derek fanfiction. I was looking something up on Youtube and I got to auditions for Degrassi, which led me to auditions for LWD. From there, I ended up getting to Vacation With Derek, which I didn't actually finish watching until today. (I got the idea on Sunday—or very early into Monday morning.) I wanted to go back and watch the show again since it's been a while and I haven't seen every episode. So this may be a bit OOC due to that fact, but what Dasey fanfic wouldn't be a bit out of character? Haha. I did read a few fanfictions recently, though, so I think I'll be okay for now.  
**

**Also, I had a little bit of trouble coming up with a title for this. I went through my music library and picked out a few songs. One of them ended up being this title, but I decided to look it up and listen to it since I didn't really remember if I'd heard it or not. Some lyrics do fit and I recommend listening to it. It's "Another Word For Desperate" by Straylight Run. But don't worry about the future of this story! Don't take all of the lyrics and run off with any wild ideas. Not everything will match with this, but I did feel that certain parts would.**

* * *

Casey McDonald shoved one last item into her suitcase before trying to shut it. She pulled the zipper, being able to get it most of the way closed. She continued to yank at the zipper, but when it was about a quarter of an inch from being fully sealed, it stopped. Perpetually stuck and revealing some of her undergarments. _Great, just what I want people to see._

There was a knock at the door and Casey looked up to see Emily standing in the doorway.

"Need some help?" She asked with a smile on her face, eying up Casey's suitcase.

"Yes." Casey pouted. "I unpacked it and repacked it four times. Everything won't fit! And this is me we're talking about. I can usually work my way around organizational problems."

"Maybe you just bought too many new outfits this term," Emily suggested. "I definitely know I have. Mostly party dresses, which you didn't really get to see that much. You should have come along to some of the parties. They were fun. If you look past the drunk guys and crazy people. But, yeah, still...fun." She chuckled.

"Em, you know and I know that I'm here for school. I don't want to waste my time with a bunch of 'drunk guys and crazy people.' I want to use my time here wisely."

"Hey, being social is not a waste of time. You might even find a nice, respectable gentleman." She laughed once again. "Not at the parties I went to, though," she admitted.

"Probably not. Hey, listen, can you help me shut my suitcase? I don't want everyone in this whole dorm to see my underwear."

"Sure." Emily smiled, setting her purse on the bed, next to Casey's fiasco.

* * *

"How did you even fit all of your stuff in your bags?" Derek's new friend, Jeremy, asked.

"My stepmom helped me. Practically did it for me. I don't know how she makes more room, but she does it."

"Dude," Jeremy began, his attention moving toward something else. "Who's the hot chick?" He picked up a framed photo that was on Derek's desk. He turned the photo toward Derek and pointed at Casey.

"Gross, that's my stepsister," he sad simply, trying to put a quick end to the topic of conversation.

"Dude, would you set me up with her?"

"Definitely not," he said, laughing it off. Then, to change the subject, he said, "So, are you all packed up?"

"Almost. I gotta pack one last bag."

"Better do it soon," Derek chuckled, glancing at the clock on his desk, which read 10:41. "It's almost eleven. I don't think you wanna go to bed super late if you have to leave early. I'm getting a wake-up call kinda early."

"Wake-up call? We have that?"

"Uh, yeah, sure," Derek lied. Casey said she would call him to mare sure they would leave on time. He didn't want to mention her name again, knowing that Jeremy would probably try to ask Derek to be his wingman. "When I first wake up, I'll probably forget I have to go home, so if I wake up when I normally do, I'll probably be really late at getting home. Well, later than my family wants. Gotta be there by dinner time. Man, leave the house and go to university and have adult status, but you still have to be there a good deal before six to 'catch up' and stuff."

"Man, how early do you have to get up? It's not that far away."

"Case and I-" He stopped after realizing that he'd mentioned her name. Well, her _nickname_. "I mean, I want to go have breakfast and get in a nice afternoon here before I have to go home." In actuality, this was Casey's plan. She was the one who wanted to bid the city adieu in the 'proper way.' Sure, Derek liked Kingston, but he didn't really care for the whole dramatic, dragged out goodbye to the place. He'd be back next term, so there was no point in missing anything.

"Ah. Hey, listen, man. I think I'm gonna just go on back to my dorm. Catch you later?"

"Yeah," Derek said. "And maybe we'll see each other around sometime."

"Definitely. Feel free to shoot me a text or something when you're back home."

"Will do," Derek said and then sighed after Jeremy left the room. Suddenly, his phone began to buzz. He looked down at the caller id. _Casey_. He picked his phone up and pressed the answer button on the screen. "Yeah, hey," he said into the phone.

"Are you all packed up?" she asked.

"Almost. You?"

"Emily was trying to help me, but I think this is the first problem that I cannot solve." She laughed.

"And you were calling because you wanted some help."

"If it wouldn't be too much trouble," she said.

"No, it's fine. Your dorm is not that far away. Just a bus ride and a quick twenty minute walk. Should be a piece of cake."

She could hear the smile in his voice. "Well, then you better get to it. The buses get filled up with crazies pretty soon."

"I'll be there in about five minutes."

"Thank you," she cheered into the receiver. "You're the best."

"No problem." He hung up and put on his coat, trying not to be distracted by her last comment.

* * *

About six or seven minutes later, Derek walked into Casey's dorm room.

"There you are."

"Yeah, here I am." He pointed to himself, which earned him an eyeroll from Casey.

"So, do you think you'll be able to fix it?" she asked, gesturing to the suitcase that was on her bed.

"I'll try," he said.

"Great. Do you mind if I just go ahead and take care of some other stuff?"

"No, go ahead," he said, getting to work at fixing the pesky zipper.

"Awesome." Casey walked over toward the wall and started to remove some of her posters, which came off surprisingly easily. By the time she was done taking them down, Derek was finished with his work.

"Finished," he said as Casey was taking her calendar off of the wall, the last date marked off being the 19th, which was today.

"Thank you so much," she said, throwing her arms around him in a hug.

"Hey, hey, no hugs," Derek said, pretending to be annoyed.

Casey stuck out her hand. "Impersonal enough for you?" she asked.

"Much better." He nonchalantly clapped her hand, instead of shaking it, and then said that he was going to head to bed.

"Good night," Casey said.

"Yeah, night," he responded, stepping out into the hall and beginning his walk to the elevator.

* * *

**So, thoughts? Would you guys like to see a chapter on how they spend the next day "saying goodbye to the city", as Casey would say?**

**I've got a lot of different things planned out for this, so stay tuned and please review!  
**

**Fluffy Tranquil**


	2. Chapter 2

**Shout out to gummy worms (which I'm eating right now) and Hey Arnold (which I'm watching, although at this very moment, it's Rugrats). Also, shoutouts to everyone on fanfiction/tumblr who read the story, favorited it, subscribed, or reviewed. You guys are awesome!**

**Maybe I can get a good amount of reviews for this chapter. This story got 113 visitors, but it only has a few reviews. I feel kinda blah asking for them, but it'd make me happy if everyone who read could review if they had time. I appreciate it. (:**

* * *

At exactly seven a.m., Casey called Derek, sending his phone into a rock frenzy. The drums sounded first, only to be joined by guitar a few seconds later. By the time the bass picked up, his brain had processed what was going on. He blinked his eyes once or twice and then stretched his arm out to retrieve his cell phone. He pushed the green icon and then held the phone to his ear. "'Yello," he said, knowing who it was without checking the caller i.d.

"Good morning, Derek."

"Morning, Case." He yawned. "Thanks for the call," he added in, knowing she'd brush it off.

"Oh, it was no problem. You probably wouldn't have been awake otherwise."

"No, really. I mean, you could have just let me sleep and I would have ended up hitchhiking my way back home." He cleared his throat. "Well, I'm gonna go take a shower and get dressed."

"Okay. Call me when you're ready, or come to my dorm or something."

"Okay. I'll see you later."

"Bye."

"Bye."He hung up the phone and set it on his bedside table. He grabbed a towel and a change of clothes and then headed down the hallway to take a shower.

* * *

Having already showered before she called Derek, Casey took the opportunity to make sure she'd packed everything and created a list of what they would need. She'd thrown out the left over food from her fridge in case it were to spoil, so she and Derek would probably need to pick up a few things in case they got hungry during the drive home.

After the list was made and put somewhere safe—Casey's wallet—she decided to go over the 'itinerary' they'd planned. Well, Casey planned. Derek just sat back mumbling a few 'uh-huhs' and 'yeahs.' First, they were going to have breakfast at Antonio's, a local cafe that was popular amongst locals who were their age. Next, they would head over to the mall. Derek didn't really care about this stop, though Casey had said that it was a must. The particular mall had a store that didn't have any locations in London and Casey wanted to at least get a last look around, if not buy something.

Suddenly, she yawned. She'd woken up at 5:30 that morning, just to make sure she got everything ready on time. But, like always, she was early for everything. Sighing, she decided to go for a run. A quick one, because of the weather, but a run nonetheless. She pulled her phone out from her pocket and sent Derek a text message, saying that she was going to go for a run. She doubted he would be ready by the time she got back, but she just wanted to be cautious.

She contemplated texting or calling Emily in case she would want to run with her, but 90 percent of the campus was probably still sound asleep, staying warm and toasty under their covers.

She set out alone, returning about 20 minutes later. Thankfully, she didn't sweat. That would have rendered her morning shower useless.

When she walked down the hallway to her dorm room, she was surprised to see Derek standing there, leaning against the wall.

"Oh, hey, Derek." She blushed, hoping he wouldn't notice that she was still in her sports bra. But then she told herself that that would be the last thing on Derek's mind. Really, what did he care? "Oh, right. I should let you inside. Have you been waiting out here for long?"

"Nah, maybe...four minutes max, I think."

"Ah, sorry. I thought you would have taken way longer to get ready." She took her key from her pocket and then let Derek and herself into the room.

"I'm actually surprised I didn't. I was in the shower and I-I guess I remembered this weird dream." He immediately felt a little awkward about the fact that he'd just mentioned that he was in the _shower_. He continued on quickly in an effort to make her forget about what he'd just said. "Ed got a bird or something. I don't exactly know what happened, but it was a little strange."

"Really? I think I had a dream where I got a dolphin once. There was this big pool inside the house and it stayed in there."

"So," Derek began, changing the subject. "Are you ready to go?

Instinctively, Casey looked at her watch. It was nearly 8 o'clock. "Yeah," she said. "They're about to open up, so by the time we get there, they'll be serving breakfast. We should load up the car now."

Derek nodded in agreement and then helped Casey take some of her bags to the car.

* * *

"So," Casey said after they'd ordered their breakfast. "Are you excited to be going back home?"

"Well, it means not having to do any work." He grinned. "I know you're definitely happy."

"Of course. I miss my mom, Lizzie, everyone. But it is nice to be home, where you can just relax for a little while before classes start up again."

"But I know you and you'll probably prep really early like you did during the summer."

"Derek, who got straight A's this term?"

"That would be you."

"And a lot of the pressure was taken off of my shoulders because I started reading my textbooks _before_ classes started, instead of waiting until just before the actual assignments were due."

"Hey, there are professional slackers out there who can nail _anything_ within a short amount of time."

"Well, I wouldn't risk it. I'd be freaking out about finishing my work on time and having it be the best I could possibly do."

"But you care about things like that. I know I don't have what it takes to graduate at the top of the class. I'm getting my degree either way. Why stress myself over that?"

Casey sighed, rolling her eyes. She knew she'd never be able to get through to Derek. He would procrastinate his entire life. It was just how he was. She picked up her juice and sipped at it. "Do you want to go anywhere in the mall?"

He shook his head. "Not really. I didn't really go there much during the past few months, so I won't miss it anyway. Did you still want to go to that one place? Lil's something."

"_Lillian's Boutique_," Casey corrected. "I tried to look it up a million times. There isn't one back home. I think I'll try to look for a Christmas outfit, or maybe something for New Year's."

"I'm surprised you don't already have an outfit planned out. Christmas is, like, five days away. I would have expected you to have your outfits planned until next month at least." He laughed.

She rolled her eyes at his joke. "Hey, I didn't get a chance to get a nice outfit recently."

By that time, their food had arrived and Derek didn't have a good comeback, so he just dug into his pancakes.

* * *

After their meals were consumed and paid for, the two headed over to the mall. Lillian's Boutique was located on the second floor and Casey walked there immediately, Derek in tow. On the way over to the mall, Casey suggested that Derek stick with her. He wasn't really looking to shop, or to even browse really, and it would allow them to get in and out of stores faster.

"You can just sit down if you want, I guess." She gestured to a cushioned bench that was over near a wall of shoes. "I'll try to hurry."

"Okay." He walked over to the bench and sat down, wondering if she'd really be finished in a short amount of time.

Although, after leaving Derek to sit by himself, she seemed to be making her way around the store pretty quickly. Before long, she'd collected a few pairs of pants, some shirts, and a dress or two. With her arms filled, she walked over to a small area in the back of the store and disappeared behind one of the curtains.

Oh, what Derek would do to stop the feelings that started to overrun his mind. He couldn't help but think that she was behind something as thin as the jacket he was wearing. That an even _thinner_ layer of clothing was what guarded her body in case any incident were to cause the curtain to open. He closed his eyes in an attempt to shake the thoughts from his mind, but this only worsened things. He couldn't help but think back to earlier that morning. When he was in the shower. Having just talked to Casey beforehand, being in that state had made him think about her in the same way.

He inhaled and exhaled slowly and then cursed under his breath, for there were two small children with their parents standing right near him.

"Hey, Der," Casey called, sticking her head out to look at Derek. "Can you come here for a sec? I want to see what you think."

"I'll be right there," he called back, watching as her head disappeared from his view once again. He sucked in another breath and stood up, beginning to walk over to the dressing rooms. He glanced back to where he was sitting before. The children were now climbing on the bench, their mother looking at a pair of shoes while muttering, "Now behave, you two."

Derek knocked on the wall so that Casey would know he was there.

She tore back the curtain and stepped out into the store. "Well, what do you think? Too casual?"

"No, it's fine." Better than fine, actually. The jeans were simple enough, but Casey always knew how to make herself seem pulled-together, even if she was wearing something basic.

"Great, thanks."

'_You're welcome',_ he couldn't help but think. But he didn't say anything, just nodded.

"I actually decided against this other pair of jeans I have, but I do have another shirt I could pair this with. Mind sticking around for another second while I quickly swap tops? Hey, that rhymed."

"No, I don't mind." _Oh, you're lying to yourself. You do mind._ He wanted to tell his mind to shut up, but he knew it would never listen to him. It would keep on with what was bad for him.

"Okay." She stepped out of the dressing room again, this time with a top that was more Christmasy. But not in a cheesy-Christmas-sweater sort of way. It was just red, whereas the other shirt had been blue.

"Either one looks fine," he said. "But I'd go with the red one. It's more seasonal."

"Yeah, I'll probably end up doing that. I still have another thing to try on. It's a dress."

"I know the drill," he replied. "Stay here and wait until you're done and then I can go sit down." He attempted a smirk.

"Right." She smiled and closed the curtain. When it opened again, she was wearing a purple dress, one that went down to the top of her knees. "Well," she said, pirouetting so that he could see every angle.

"Nice," he breathed. It was strapless. It had to be strapless. He could see the bra she had on underneath it. A sports bra that he noticed her wearing earlier that morning. In his mind, he was shouting every expletive in the book, because he began to think of the bra she'd wear with this particular dress. Probably a push-up one. He'd heard plenty of girlfriends—and the women in his own house—talking about them and what miracles they worked. But he had a bad feeling that this would not work out in his favor.

"Really? You don't think it's too short? I don't want my mom to be badgering me about it."

"No, it's fine."

"Great. I think I'll get it. Just let me change."

* * *

"And you think Lizzie would like it?" Casey asked, glancing down at the book in her hand. She was considering buying it for Liz as a present, in addition to what she'd already gotten her—something from Lillian's Boutique.

"It screams Lizzie," Derek assured her. "Besides, we should get going soon. But don't worry, I'm not saying that just so we can go."

"Sure," she joked, heading over to the counter to make her purchase.

"I'm going to head over to the convenience store to go get us some stuff in case we get hungry."

"Alright." She turned back to the cashier and handed him the book. After leaving the store, she headed over to her car and got inside. Derek was still inside the convenience store, but he came outside a few minutes later. He was smiling. "What?" Casey asked.

He held up a bag of gummy worms, her favorite candy.

"Ooh, gimme!" She snatched up the bag so fast it made Derek laugh.

"Well, it looks like this will be a good ride home."

* * *

As they pulled up in front of their house, Casey was still asleep. Derek didn't want to bother her, so he enlisted Nora's help to get her inside without disturbing her. Once she was inside, everyone helped carry their things inside. When they reached her shopping bags, Derek couldn't help but notice the purple dress that was sticking out.

* * *

**Okay, there's a bit of Dasey to hold you guys off. I have a math test later today (the 25****th****), but I think I'll study in the morning. Hopefully I can get a good amount of sleep. I wanted to finish this for you all tonight/this morning, technically. I think I'll update again sometime during the weekend, so look out for that update!**

**Codie/Fluffy Tranquil**


	3. Chapter 3

**Okay, so I wanted to update last weekend and then I considered updating sometime during the week. However, I get lazy and I procrastinate. I also kind of didn't want to post right yet because I lost this paper that I had. I wrote a little bit out for future chapters, but not this one or the next one. I know what happens, so I can re-write it, but I'll try to find the paper before I get to that chapter.**

**Shoutouts to my new buddy (julie662) and pretticool!**

* * *

As soon as everyone was inside, George and Nora wanted to hear about everything. Their exams, their new friends, their professors. Did they get enough sleep? Were their eating habits something Nora would approve of? Was parking easy to find?

But with Casey asleep up in her room, the talk would have to wait until later. Instead, the rest of the family went to the grocery store, while Derek waited at home in case Casey were to wake up.

Hardly twenty minutes later, Derek could hear a door open upstairs. A few moments later, footsteps sounded on the stairs.

"Hey," Casey said, walking down the steps. A yawn escaped her lips. "How long was I asleep?"

"Less than half an hour. You were sleeping in the car too, but I don't know for how long."

"Oh, thanks. Where is everyone?"

"Store. Liz and Ed wanted to make us something special, but they had to get a few things for the recipe. They would have gone to the store earlier, but they weren't sure what time we were going to get home."

"Ah." She sat down on the couch next to Derek. "Well, to thirty-nine days of relaxation. Minus the days we'll have to prep for next semester's classes, of course." She pretended to raise a glass.

He extended a fake glass toward hers. "Cheers," he said a bit unenthusiastically.

"Cheer up. I thought you would love being home with no responsibilities."

He shrugged. "Guess I'm just a little tired out from the driving." His brain fired back with '_Liar_.' He was definitely glad to be free from lectures, exams, and dining hall food, but being home meant that he would have to see Casey. All day long, everyday. For more than an entire month. With no distractions—classes, homework, roommates—and only a hallway and a few bedroom doors separating him from Casey, he didn't know what he'd do. At least when they were back at school, he _knew_ that she was at her dorm, a five minute walk away from his own. Here, he could sneeze and his germs could reach her in a short amount of time.

"Maybe you should take a nap before dinner," she suggested.

"Nah, I'll be fine." _If I go to sleep, I can only imagine what my mind will come up with._

"Okay." She nodded. "So," she began, but she was cut off by a knock at the door.

"I'll get it," Derek said, getting up from the couch and walking toward the front door.

"Ding dong," Jeremy said when the door was open. "Look who's coming to town."

"Jeremy," Derek said, clearing his throat, hoping that Jeremy would understand that this was very unexpected. "What are you doing here?"

"You said maybe we'll see each other when we were back home. This is me taking the initiative."

"Any other reason?"

"Okay, I figured that I'd have to come here myself, seeing as you wouldn't be my wingman." He looked over at Casey, who he could see from his place at the door. "Mind if I come in?"

Derek opened the door a little more and moved to the side so that Jeremy could step past him and into the house.

"Hi," Jeremy said, smiling at Casey.

"Hi," she said.

Jeremy looked at Derek in a way that said 'introduce us.'

"Oh, right. Case, this is Jeremy. He was in my English class. And this is my step-sister, Casey."

"Charmed," Jeremy said, holding his hand out. Instead of shaking Casey's hand, he took it and kissed the top of it.

She blushed, pulling her hand back a little slowly, obviously a bit uncomfortable.

"So, what are you two up to?"

"Our family's at the grocery store, so we're just hanging out here."

"Yeah, we're about to have dinner," Derek added in, hoping that Jeremy would take the hint that the meal would be a family-only event.

Trying to be polite, Casey said, "We'd invite you to stay, but our parents probably want it to be just family. I hope you understand."

"Yeah, sure." He seemed to be thinking about something. "Hey, I've got nothing to do later. Do you guys want to hang out tonight?"

Casey pursed her lips. "Sure, why not?"

"Great." He looked at Derek. "I'll text you later."

"Mhm." Derek nodded.

"Alright, well, see ya." He turned to look at Casey again. "Bye, Casey." He smiled at her before leaving.

When Jeremy was out of the house, Derek sighed.

"What?" Casey asked.

He shrugged. "I just don't really wanna go out tonight, I guess."

"Well, you should have said something. I feel a little bad now. It's kind of rude to cancel."

He shrugged again. "We can hang out with him for a little bit, maybe. I mean, if we don't, he'll probably try to annoy me about it later on." He chuckled.

"Oh, he's like that."

"Yeah."

"Well, we've got some time before everyone is will be home. Do you want to watch a movie or something? Or part of it, at least. We probably wouldn't be able to finish it by the time they got home."

"Sure," he said, and both of them sat down on the couch.

* * *

"Really?" Nora asked. Casey had just told everyone about a project she'd been involved in on campus.

"Yeah. It's amazing. It's really fun and it's opened me up to a lot of new things." She stabbed her fork at some lasagna.

"What about you, Derek?" George asked. "Any extracurriculars?"

"Not really. I think I'll wait until next semester."

"That makes sense. You'll be more acquainted with the work load, that's for sure."

"What about your friends? Make any new ones?"

"Tons, mom. And one of Derek's new friends is from around here. He was actually over earlier. He was hoping we could all hang out tonight."

"That sounds fun. But not too late, okay?"

"I know, mom." Then, after a little while, she said, "No more questions? I thought you would have, oh, about a million of them for us." She smiled.

"Well, I did have another one ready, but I wasn't sure if I should ask it. I was going to ask if anyone...caught your eye."

"There were a few guys that I thought were cute, but that was it."

"What about you, Derek?"

Derek, who was drinking some iced tea, choked on his drink, sending some of it shooting onto the table. He should have expected this once he heard Nora ask Casey the same question. "Sorry. I, uh, I mean, it's just like Casey said. I went on a few dates, but nothing major," he said quickly, trying to push the focus off of himself. If dinner continued on like this, it would be one long night, not to mention the fact that Jeremy would probably be calling him soon, no doubt to make plans for later tonight.

* * *

Less than an hour after everyone was finished eating dinner, Derek's cellphone buzzed, his screen lighting up with a new text message. _Would you guys be able to hang out in like half an hour?_ Derek said that they would and then headed to Casey's room. "Hey, Jeremy wants to know if we want to hang out with him in a half an hour."

"Okay."

"Okay. Just meet me downstairs when you're ready."

"Are we hanging out here?"

"I don't know. I guess we'll figure something out when he gets here."

"Alright. Maybe I should get my jacket then, in case we go outside."

"I probably should too." He left her room and went back to his own.

* * *

At seven o'clock on the dot, Jeremy showed up at the door. Derek answered right away, seeing as he was waiting in the living room. "Hey," he said. "Come in."

"Thanks, man." He unwrapped the scarf that was around his neck. It was a little colder than when he was there the last time.

"Casey will be down soon. Did you have anything in mind? Of what you want to do, I mean."

"Um, maybe we could just go for a walk. I don't want to just put you guys out or anything."

"You wouldn't be," Casey said, now joining them in the living room. "A walk would be nice though. Even though it's a little cold." She grabbed her jacket from the coat rack, put it on, and then followed the two boys outside.

They started off with a simple stroll, walking up the road for a little while. Soon, they reached a playground and decided to go hang out there.

"I haven't been here in forever," Derek remarked. "Well, besides the times I've taken my little sister here. Other than that, this place is a far away memory." He walked over to the monkey bars and stuck his arms up, grabbing hold of the shiny red metal.

"I don't think I've ever been here," Jeremy said. "Which is a little strange, since I don't live very far away. What about you, Casey?"

"I've been here with my step-sister, but not when I was a kid. I'm from Toronto."

"That must have been a big change."

"Yeah, definitely. You should have seen how I reacted when I found out I'd be moving here."

Jeremy laughed, and then suddenly, as if out of no where, he asked if Casey would want to see a movie or have dinner with him tomorrow night. Derek, however, knew that this was not out of no where. It was his aim, what he'd been planning all along.

"Um, okay," Casey said. She didn't know Jeremy that well, but she didn't want to be rude. Everyone deserved a chance, so she'd at least give him that.

"Great," he said, smiling.

Meanwhile, Derek tried not to face the other two. He wasn't very happy about the current situation and he didn't want Jeremy or Casey to know that.

* * *

**This wasn't as good as I'd imagined, so please bear with me.**

**When I was thinking about this chapter, I thought I'd have the date included, but it seems to make more sense if I have it in the next chapter (chapter four). I'll try to write that tonight and type it up/post it in the morning. Hopefully that will make up for taking a little while to post this chapter. Then, I might try to update sometime during the week. The interesting parts haven't even happened yet and I don't want to keep you guys waiting for a long time. Good thing summer is almost here. My last day is the 20th, so expect more frequent posts around that time.**


	4. Chapter 4

It was 7:45 and Casey McDonald was dressed and ready for her date. Jeremy was supposed to pick her up at eight o'clock, so she went downstairs to the living room to wait for him to arrive.

Derek was sitting on the couch, a hockey game displayed on the television. He appeared to be very interested in it, because when Casey said hi, he didn't respond or even acknowledge the fact that she spoke to him.

"Derek," she said, sticking her hand out and waving it in front of him. "Did you hear me?"

"No," he said. "Sorry."

"Paying too much attention to the game?"

"Not really, no. I was thinking about something."

"Oh." She sat down on the couch. "So, I'll be back by eleven, at the latest."

He nodded. "Yeah. I'll wait up in case you forget or lose your key or something."

"I've got it right here." She took her key out of her bag and held it up. "You know me. I never forget my keys."

"Well, you know, just in case."

"I understand. Thanks. I wouldn't want to come home and be locked out for the rest of the night, especially in December weather."

He nodded again. "It's no problem."

"So, is this how you'll be spending your night? Hockey and-" She glanced down at something that was on the coffee table. "video games, assuming those aren't just there for decoration."

"No. I'm thinking of ordering a pizza as well."

Casey rolled her eyes and then the doorbell rang. "I'll get that."

"No, I got it," Derek said, hopping up from the couch. He walked over to the door and opened it. "Jeremy, hey."

"Hey, dude," he said. He seemed a little caught off guard. He probably expected Casey to answer the door. "Thought I was going on a date with your step-sister, not you," he joked.

"Hi," Casey said, coming into view.

"You kids behave now," Derek pretend-scolded.

Casey stepped outside first, then Jeremy.

Derek turned to look at Jeremy. "Seriously," he whispered.

"Got, it, bro," Jeremy whispered back.

Derek closed the door and went back to watching the hockey game, but he couldn't seem to focus on anything the players were doing. Every point earned for the home team would make any normal fan scream with joy, but not him. At least not tonight. Anything could happen.

He didn't know if they were going to the movies or to dinner. He really hoped it was the movies. At least then there would be less talking.

But then he realized that the movies would be a horrible idea. He'd spent quite some time making out with girls at movie theaters, even back when he was just starting out high school. He hated to imagine Jeremy trying to 'make a move' on Casey. He wasn't some 14-year-old who was testing the waters. He'd had experience. Derek had heard about some of it first-hand. The girl from their English class. Girls from some of Jeremy's other classes. Many a time had he heard Jeremy brag, while he had to keep to himself, knowing that he could never tell Jeremy something like that. At least not with enthusiasm. He'd gotten pretty far with some girls from school, but he didn't really treat it as something he'd like to share.

He sighed. "I'm screwed."

"How?" Edwin asked, walking down the steps.

"Um, Casey. I, uh, don't want to have to pick her up off the floor. You know she commits when she's into someone. I just don't want to see her start to really like Jeremy and then fall apart if he breaks it off." He hoped Edwin would not be able to tell he was lying.

"Then why didn't you tell her he was a bad guy? It sure could save everyone a lot of trouble. Especially Casey."

"Ed, you're a genius."

"What do you mean?"

"It totally makes sense. Tell Case he's not a good guy and she won't even try. If she knew, then she wouldn't put in the time and effort."

"Yeah, probably would have worked if you'd told her this _before_ the date. News flash, she could still end up liking him."

"I know. But it's only the first date. I don't think she'd start to like him that fast. Besides, he probably isn't up to her standards."

"So, slacker, doesn't know what he wants to do with his life, and thinks reading is overrated? Let me know if I'm hitting any marks here."

"On the nose."

"I don't know what you're worried about then."

Derek rolled his eyes. Of course Edwin didn't know. No one knew. And if anyone _did_ know, he's surely be screwed.

* * *

Casey got home at 10:31 p.m. She was a little surprised that Jeremy didn't want to come inside. Throughout the date, he'd made it pretty obvious that he liked her, but Casey didn't really like him,which made her feel a little bad. He was clearly into her, but she just didn't share those feelings. She could only imagine how he felt when she turned his goodnight kiss into a lips-to-cheek affair.

Sighing, she opened the door. Just as promised, Derek was waiting for her. "Hey," she said.

"Hey, Case. How was your date?"

"Um, fine. Listen, I'm gonna go change. Do you want to watch a movie or something?"

"Sure."

"Okay, great. You can choose. I don't care what it is." She went upstairs and returned a few minutes later.

Derek had set everything up. All he had to do was push play.

"Ooh, I actually wanted to see this," Casey said, sitting down on the couch.

However, she didn't like the movie as much as she thought she would, so she and Derek started to just talk about whatever came to mind.

Amidst the talk of their plans for the break, Casey remembered something. "Oh, yeah," she started. "I forgot that I wanted to take up painting. Or at least try to. I did pretty well in that beginners painting class I had and it's really, really fun. Ugh, seriously. I love it." She paused, wondering if she was talking too much. She waited for him to come up with some witty remark about how she rambles on about things, but it didn't come.

Instead, he didn't speak at all. He leaned forward and kissed her on the lips.

She took it as his way of saying that he was going to bed. Siblings give each other goodnight kisses sometimes, right? _Though certainly not on the lips...Maybe he's just tired_.

"I've wanted to do that for a while," he said.

"W-what?" she asked. Then, she smelled alcohol on his breath and it suddenly made sense: he must have thought she was someone else. A girl from school that he was hung up on, maybe. "Um, Derek, maybe you should go to bed." She stood up and grabbed his hand, trying to lead him over to the staircase.

* * *

**So, what you were expecting? Not what you were expecting? I would have liked it to be a little better, but whatever. At least we are _finally_ getting to the good part! Please review! What do you guys think will happen? Will Derek's plan work?  
**

**Casey may be smart, but she's definitely not catching on when it comes to Derek liking her. Stay tuned! :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**A thousand apologies! After a long wait, here is the new chapter! I don't think it turned out as well as it could have, but that's okay. Make sure to read down below (in my other author's note) to see why it's so late and to also get some info on some future fics! Enjoy!**

* * *

Casey was awake early the next morning, despite the fact that she went to bed a bit late the previous night. Waking up before seven was just natural for her, like it was built into her system. But she couldn't complain because she was never late for class.

It was also how she snuck in workouts. If she didn't go for a morning run, she wouldn't have enough time to exercise once her classes were over and her homework was finished. However, she'd have to cut back on them soon. It was already a little colder than she was used to, and the temperatures would only drop in the days and weeks to come.

Yawning, she got out of bed and walked over to her dresser, which was newly refilled with her clothes. She pulled open two drawers at once, just to be sure she had the right one. She'd organized her clothes a bit differently while she was away at school and the new system had grown on her.

After grabbing a pair of dark, stretchy capri pants and a t-shirt, she changed and then headed downstairs. Her mother was cooking eggs for Lizzie and Marti. Edwin must have still been in his room. George was was moving about, looking for something.

"Good morning, Casey," Nora said.

"Good morning, mom."

"Do you want anything to eat?"

"No, thanks. I'm just going to go for a run. I'll make something when I get back."

"Okay, honey. Be careful. It's still pretty early."

"I will," she said, walking into the living room to grab her jacket. She opened the door and stepped outside onto the porch. The air felt nice at this hour, crisp. Untainted by the exhaust from a thousand cars. The feeling of going out at this time was amazing. It felt entirely different from any other time. Like no one was outside. She could scream and only a few people might hear her.

Chuckling at her last thought, she reached into the pocket of her jacket to get her gloves. Once they were on her hands, she took off, starting out with a sprint.

* * *

Derek woke up just shy of eleven, the birds outside having finally succeeded at creating their tune at a loud enough volume. He stretched his arms above his head and began to squeeze his eyes shut. It actually seemed a little hard to keep them open. He could go back to sleep, but then he might end up staying in bed all day long.

When he stood up, he felt kind of woozy, so he walked down the hall to the bathroom.

But he wasn't so lucky. He ended up missing the trashcan, causing some of his vomit to get on the carpet.

"That just had to happen," he said aloud. He grabbed some toilet paper and sunk to ground-level. Balling up the toilet paper, he wiped up some of what was on the carpet and then threw the wadded-up mess into the wastebasket.

He washed his hands before heading downstairs. The house seemed empty. In reality, it probably was. Nora and George still had work, seeing as it was a weekday. Today was also the last day of school for the kids. But it was probably an 'easy' day. Teachers were more relaxed, and Derek had heard from Marti that a Christmas assembly was supposed to take place.

But he didn't know where Casey was. The sink was empty and the counter clean, so it didn't appear as though she'd made breakfast. Although, knowing Casey, she could have made an entire feast and left not a trace of evidence.

He just hoped she would not come downstairs any time soon. He didn't exactly put a whole lot of thought into last night's actions, and she was probably taken off guard. He definitely didn't want to scare her off, but he felt that he must have done just that.

* * *

After eating his toast, Derek returned to his room. He hadn't spotted Casey yet, so perhaps she'd gone out with a friend, maybe Emily.

Assuming this to be true, he deemed it safe to leave his room. As soon as he reached his door and stepped into the hallway, he spotted Casey at the door to her own bedroom.

She nodded her head in the direction of the games room, the look on her face screaming 'follow me.'

He followed her into the room and she shut the door behind them.

"So," she began. "do you know what happened last night?" After he nodded, Casey continued. "I was thinking about it and I think you should go for it."

"W-what?"

"I think that you should tell this person you like them. I've definitely had crushes on people before and there's no sense in bottling your feelings up if you feel that strongly about someone."

"All right. You're surprisingly okay with this. I did _not_ expect that. But, yeah, I like you, Case."

"_Me_? You like _me_?"

"Well, who did you think I was talking about? You were there. You know who I kissed."

"Yeah, but I thought you were just drunk and that you were thinking about someone else. I thought you thought that _I_ was someone else."

He shook his head. "No."

"Well, then..."

"Yup..."

"So..."

"But I think we're missing something here."

"Which is?"

He rolled his eyes. "Come on, Case. I can't believe you don't know what I'm going to ask you."

"Do I like you too?"

"Well," he said, smirking.

"I guess I probably did when we first met, even though that relationship could not have gone well. But it that normal?"

"If it's not, then I'm not normal. By the way, I'm still waiting for your answer." She looked confused, so he elaborated on what he meant. "The question was, 'Do I like you too,' not 'Did I like you too.' Come on, I'm waiting."

When he inched forward, she backed up. "Stop doing that." She cracked a smile.

"Hey, there's a response. And I'm thinking I know what the answer is."

"I didn't say anything!"

"But you had that response." He laughed. "And if I'm not mistaken, people tend to get giddy when someone they like is in their presence. Am I right or am I not right?"

Casey bit her lip, trying not to laugh or smile any further. "I can't believe you're doing this...I don't know. I could like you. I mean, I haven't really thought about it, you know? It's not like it's this looming thought that's always hanging there or anything."

"Oh, then you do not want to see what goes on in my head."

"I really do not know how to respond to that."

"Well, your response doesn't have to be in the form of words." He started to lean in, but then pulled back at the last second. "I'm just kidding. But I would like to kiss you."

"Well, you'll just have to wait for that, now won't you?" She paused for a minute. "I guess we'll just see where this goes. I mean, that's what I would do with any other guy I'd go on a date with. This doesn't have to be any different, except, you know..."

"Yeah."

"But, there would have to be rules. Secrecy, obviously. Closed doors."

"So, if I want to kiss you, I have to bring you in here?"

"No, but if there is anyone else in the house, it's pretty much a no go, unless we're in one of our rooms or something."

He sighed. "Okay, McDonald."

"All right, _Venturi_."

* * *

**I wanted to add a final sentence or two, but I think this works as well. Haha. (: So, that took longer than I expected. I'm really sorry for not updating sooner. There were definitely a few reasons. Laziness, of course. I also didn't really know how I was going to have that conversation carry out. It turned out more playful than I'd originally intended. I've also been staying up late and then waking up late, so I end up spending a lot of time in my room sleeping in and being lazy. And I actually wrote out some future scenes for this fanfiction, but I'd lost the page. (That was a while ago though.) I kind of gave up on that since I remembered what happened in them, but I found the page the other day. In the car. On the car floor (or on top of something that was on the car floor) to be exact. I did lose the beginning I wrote to this chapter though. It was in a small journal and I think it actually had some decent writing. I cleaned my room and I think I put it somewhere.**

**Anyway, please review!**

**I've also got some new Life With Derek fanfictions coming out. One is about Casey and Derek being in Casey's dorm room alone (because of someone in the dorm getting sick with a possibly deadly disease). Another I got recently and is not as developed as some of my other ideas. They're on spring break with their friends, so we can all imagine how that will go... I also have one where they are married and have a son, but that will be a tragedy, so you probably know what will happen in that one. Lastly (at least I think that's the only other idea I have) is the newest one. Derek and Casey are a little older (24, 25) and are not step-siblings. They meet and will eventually end up having a relationship, but there's a secret that will end up getting out. Make sure to check them out! I might post that last one soon, as I wrote some of it when I was on my dad's laptop the other day.**

**Well, that was a long ending note. Haha.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Okay, as usual, laziness is the reason that this chapter was not out sooner. I've just been going on the computer, getting into new Youtubers, etc. But, after a wait that probably (definitely) could have been shorter, I present to you...the new chapter! :) I hope you guys enjoy it!**

* * *

"Go on. I know you're amazing."

Casey pursed her lips, smiling shyly. "Not really."

"Come on," Derek prompted, circling her on the ice—his idea of being threatening. "Show me that winning routine."

"I can't do my routine here."

Derek rolled his eyes. "Translate it to the ice...Make some adjustments."

"Some people can combine dancing with ice skating, but I, Casey McDonald, am not one of those people. Dancing is my strong suit, but I'm just a mediocre skater. You're the hockey star. How about _you_ showing me something?"

"Not a chance. You've been to my games before. You've already seen me skate plenty of times."

"Fine." She sighed. "If it will get you to stop being annoying."

He chuckled. "Proceed."

Casey gestured with her hand to let Derek know that he should back up a little bit. She skated toward the center, taking a deep breath and then closing her eyes for a moment. In a sudden, fluid movement, she was off, twisting and turning rapidly. She skated the perimeter of the lake, loving that she had more room than she would on any stage. There were also no time constraints or rules she had to worry about, so she threw in a few moves and totally improvised during some parts of the performance.

She was having so much fun that she was caught a little bit off guard when she messed up. The blade of her skate must have gotten caught in the ice, so she just trailed off at the end.

Derek skated up behind her and wrapped his arms around her.

She jumped slightly. "You kinda scared me."

Derek laughed. "Sorry. I can make it up to you, though."

"Not here. It's Saturday. Lizzie or Edwin might decide to go skating and I don't think that's what they would have envisioned. Or Marty. Oh, gosh, I would not know how to explain that one to her."

"Relax. It's their first day of break. They're probably still sleeping."

"George or Nora? I mean, I get that they probably wouldn't come out here, but I just really don't want to get caught."

"Case, we're not going to get caught. It's not like I'm trying to make out with you on the front porch or something. Besides, we're not that close to the house. We'll probably be able to hear if anyone is coming." He leaned in to whisper, "Besides, I know you want to kiss me."

She hit him playfully on the shoulder. "You are so conceited."

"I didn't you hear you deny that." He smirked before leaning in to kiss her. Then, suddenly, he pulled away. "By the way, 'I'm a mediocre skater.' Total lie. I think you just wanted me to compliment you."

"And the ego grows..."

"Come on, I'm just joking."

"I know...So..."

"So..."

"Do you wanna head back home?"

"I guess. I'll, uh, stay in my room for a bit before going downstairs."

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea. If we were suddenly always around each other, that'd tip them off."

Casey nodded in agreement. "All right, let's go." She grabbed his hand and the two of them walked back toward their house.

* * *

She never would have imagined herself doing this. She never really had a reason to sneak around the house late at night. She'd never snuck out of the house to meet one of her boyfriends, not even when she really missed them. But in all fairness, she could spend all day with them if she wanted to. No one would say anything that shamed the relationship. George or Nora would probably tell her to spend some more time with the family, but that would be the harshest comment they'd ever use.

Right now, she technically was spending more time with someone from the _family_, but if her mother knew the particular details, she'd have a heart attack. And then get an urge to send Casey to therapy.

She shook her head, telling herself that everyone else was probably asleep. Edwin or Lizzie might be browsing online, but she took solace in the fact that Derek's room was just a few paces away.

She finally reached the door and then opened it, feeling that knocking would cause too much noise or that Derek would take too long to answer it.

"Hey," she said, shutting the door behind her. "I can't believe I have to sneak into your room to watch a movie. We probably could have just watched it down in the living room."

"But then we'd have to sit apart from each other."

"I guess that's true."

"And besides, you can think of this as our first date." He grinned at her.

"That's also true." She plopped herself down on his bed. "It's not the typical first date, and we definitely do not fit the demographic, but I like that idea."

"Good." He smiled again.

"Good," she repeated.

* * *

**Cheesy, I know, but I had to end the chapter some way... Haha.**

**I think I wrote in an author's note earlier on that I'd written something for this in class and then lost it, which was partially why I took a while to post a new chapter. Well, I eventually found it in the car—randomly, when I was not looking for it. I put it on the floor in my room and kind of just left it there. I decided to look for it the other day and I decided to look under this mini exercise trampoline that I have in my room, but I never use it. It's pretty much taken up a life of being a shelf. :) So, I lifted it up and found it, and then I decided to type it up/add in a little bit more. The page was wet/hard to read in some areas, but it wouldn't have been hard to remember what I wrote in the indistinguishable parts, so yay! Haha. I began it on Friday and I think I wanted to write some more yesterday, but I was just stuck. (And also procrastinating, like always.) As I'm writing this A/N (at 2:21 p.m. On Sunday), I am determined to actually post this chapter today!**

**Sorry for the long author's note. But, yeah, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I would like to post some more chapters for this, Never Trust A Pessimist, and maybe upload another fanfiction. I also got another idea for a (probably) one-shot that is from Derek's point of view and is about him reminiscing about Casey and himself.**


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